Chapter 8: Conflict, Obstacles and Rising Stakes
Conflict is what drives the story and keeps the energy high. Your story starts once a problem appears (Inciting Incident/Catalyst), and in order to keep it moving, you have to have conflict in every scene. We enjoy watching characters overcome obstacles with stakes that keep rising at every turn. The greater the conflict, the more energy is generated in your screenplay, and this is what gets the audience hooked.
The antagonist is the opposing force preventing (or trying to prevent) your Hero from getting what they want. Sometimes this is an external enemy, family member, co-worker, authority figure or downright villain, who challenges the main character and sets obstacles in their way.
Sometimes the antagonist is internal – your Hero is their own worst enemy. The internal conflict gets displayed outward in more and more complex and difficult ways – until your Hero has no choice but to “do or die” so to speak.
Developing conflict and “upping the stakes” is a skill that you can master. Ask yourself, “What if?” Followed by, “And then what happened?” Go beyond the most logical next steps your character might take or circumstances your character might encounter. Dig deep and challenge your Hero – don’t let them off easy!
Push the Limits Writing Exercise
To help you develop your skills at creating conflict that is fresh and original, and pushes your Hero to the brink with no seeming solution in sight, list out at least 20 different obstacles that your Hero could encounter in your story.
You don’t have to use all of these obstacles, but you’ll notice that the first five or ten come easily – that’s because you’ve seen these obstacles before. The car suddenly stalls on the tracks as a speeding train comes around the bend, or the Hero walks in on her true love making out with her best friend. But the farther down you get on the list, the more original and “outside the box” your ideas become. The Hero discovers that her true love is the one-night-stand she ghosted years ago and swore she’d never see again, who’s back and seeking revenge (and doing a good job of it) by dating her dad.
Up the Stakes Writing Exercise
Another great exercise to sharpen your skills at writing conflict and rising stakes for your characters, is to start off with a “what if” statement such as these:
Two teenagers steal the keys to a Ferrari from a restaurant valet and go for a joyride when…
A man meets a woman through an on-line dating service and can’t believe his good fortune. She’s everything he’s ever dreamed of until…
Of course, you can change these up and create your own open-ended scenarios. The point is to have fun, let the creativity flow and expand what’s possible.